Burial-casket



F. 0. DOWNEE` BURIAL GASKET.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. 3l, 1920. v 1,381,908. l @Immune 21,1921.

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Eeclawner,

tgv Wm duce the weight within the limits of porfta4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

linnn o. DowNEn, or BATTLE annex, MICHIGAN, AssIeNoa 'ro sammy comm, INconroaArED, or mnmNAroms, INDIANA.

BBQTHERS BURIAL-GASKET.

speeineation af Letters Patent.

Application filed March 31, 1920. Serial No. 370,149.

and useful BurialfCasket, of which the fol-.

lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in burial caskets, and the object of the invention is, iirst, to form a casket out of cement, concrete, or the like inexpensive stone-making material, the body and cover of which casket will leach'be monolithic, strong, and durable, and in which a corpse may be sealed up air-tight. Second, to rebility for.V `allbearers .so the casket and corpse may e handled in the usual manner;

and, third, to provide a neat-looking casketA in any of the standard patterns.

l accomplish the above and other objects which will hereinafter appear, by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts of the device.

Figure 1, is a perspective viewof a metal reinforcement in' the'form of a basket, for the body of the casket. gitudinal, vertical, central section of .a complete casket made in accordance wlth my invention. Fi 3, is a view in side elevatlon of the casket s own in Fig. 2, andFig 4, is a cross section, on a larger scale, on the line 4 4, of Fi 2 and 3.' Fig. 5 is an enlarged view o a corner of Fig. 4.

The finished casket is in two, separable, monolithic parts abody 6 anda cover 5.

Both arel prefera ly formed of cement withv a middlewreinforcement of perforate metal 8.

Thisvvill preferably be a cloth woven' out.

of heav wires, with a mesh approximately two inc es square. The wires are welde vtogether at 'each intersection. IThe wire cloth is made into a basket of correspondingsize and shape for the proposed casket, and the corners are securely and rigidly united.

This, with the welding of the wires at all intersections,;makes a strong and rigid reinforcement for the cement walls, and the smallness of the mesh insures strong and ample anchorage for the casket handles,

(not shown) at any place where it may be desired to attach them. Th reinforcement as above made u is placed in the mold, and

the cement in a iquid state is then poured Fig. 2, is alonin and completely envelops it a monolithic member.

lnasmuch as a fiat casket-cover would become d1shed and drawn out of register where 1t joins the casket-body, or become otherwlse broken by the weight of the earth filled into the grave and settling down, partlcularly after the grave-box has become decayed, prefer to make it self-supporting by arching the corners 9. .The cover is also relnforced with wire cloth in the samefmanner as has been described for the body.

-Whenthe casket is closed for the last time, .the vmeeting joints betweenl the body and cover -are made secure and Water-tight by Patented June 21, 1921.

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a layer of cement 10. A tongue 11 and j groove l2 are provided in the joint between the body and cover, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to insure continued registration of the adjacent casket members. The casket is iinished to a perfectly smooth surface inside and out to enable a finish to be applied in a smooth and even manner. Broadcloth, for

example, is often glued to the, outside, and, as is well known, any little unevenness of surface of the casket will show plainly through the cloth l13, Fig. 5. To avoid any injury to the hearse the bottom of the casket.

is preferably covered with paper or cloth 1(4,I-glued thereto. See Fig. 4. .a

ving thus fully described my invention,

what- I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent, isj A burial casket hav-ing va monolithic body and a separate monolithic cover, the upper corners of the covei` beingcurved and each of said casket members being reinforced with wires woven to approximately a two inch mesh welded at the meeting places of the wires and formed into baskets with `rigid walls and corners, the wires of said baskets being filled and covered with a cementitious material forming alight and readily portable 'casket thel surfaces of which are finished smoothly and have a' covering of thin material adhesively applied thereto, said body and cover meeting in a tongue and groove joint to keep the joined members in register,

said joint being finally sealed with a waterproof cement.

In witness whereof I 'have hereunto affixed my signature at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 19th day of March, 1920.

FRED O. DOWNER. 

